


Too High a Bar

by ezazahaz



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bonding through cockblocking, Cockblocking, Coitus Interruptus, Fuckbuddies, Getting Together, Hurt Bucky Barnes, Idiots in love being dicks to each other, Idiots in love being jealous assholes, Jealous Bucky Barnes, Jealous Tony Stark, Jealousy, M/M, Multi, OT3, Oblivious Steve Rogers, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-29
Updated: 2015-10-07
Packaged: 2018-04-23 22:33:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4894828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ezazahaz/pseuds/ezazahaz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony and Bucky know neither of them is good enough for Steve.  The thing is, nobody else is either.  Good thing Steve has friends to protect him from all his unworthy suitors.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. He Deserves Better

“I’ve seen the way you look at him.”

Tony didn’t look up from the adjustments he was making to Bucky’s metal arm. “Who?” he asked, feigning disinterest but not succeeding.

“Steve. You’re not good enough for him, you know.”

Tony laughed humorlessly. “Brave of you to say to the guy messing with the wires in your arm.” Bucky didn’t reply, and Tony added, “But you’re not wrong. Why do you think I’ve never made a move? He deserves someone a hell of a lot better than me.” He looked up at Bucky’s face, but couldn’t read the neutral expression. “You think that’s you?”

Bucky shook his head, a hint of pain showing. “After all I’ve done? The people I’ve--” He cut himself off. “No, he deserves better than me, too.”

“So we agree neither of us is good enough for him. Glad we had this conversation,” Tony said dismissively, then swiftly changed the subject, “Now, wiggle your fingers one at a time while I test these connections...”

***

Bucky stood by the service door, surveying the well-dressed crowd for threats. Ms. Potts had suggested it would be good for the Avengers’ image if the reformed Winter Soldier attended the Maria Stark Foundation charity gala, so one appointment with Tony’s tailor and a new tux later, here he stood.

He saw Steve across the ballroom, constantly being approached by members of the simpering public. He seemed more comfortable talking with strangers than Bucky remembered, but he supposed the near-universal adoration of Captain America helped.

Bucky watched the elegantly dressed blonde woman beside him lean into Steve's space flirtatiously. He clenched his jaw.

“She’s going to tear him apart,” a familiar voice said.

Bucky chastised himself for not noticing Tony coming up beside him, but kept his surprise from showing. “She's a threat?”

Tony shook his head, then shrugged. “Not--exactly. I had an… encounter with her once. She acted all sweet and innocent, but got mean in the bedroom--and not in the fun way. I put a stop to it, and she got an unflattering article about me published the next day. It was nothing I couldn’t handle, but--”

“We don’t want that to happen to Steve.”

Tony shook his head. “Normally when someone like her is getting a little too up-close-and-personal with him at these things, I can jump in and flirt with them until they forget about him--”

“Normally?” Bucky interrupted. “How often does this happen?”

“At high-society events? All the time.” Tony gave a cynical grin. “These people are vipers. Sure, they donate money to charity so they’ll look good, but they’ll also do whatever they can to get whatever they want. And a lot of people want a piece of Captain America.”

“So you convince them they want you instead.”

Tony shrugged. “They figure I’ll be easier to get into bed, and they assume my experience means I’ll be damn good at it, too. Which, well, I am.”

Bucky stopped listening when he noticed the woman placing a hand on Steve’s arm, shifting as if to guide him somewhere. “But you can’t do that here.”

Tony shook his head. “She’s not going to believe I’m interested after what she put me through last time.”

“Guess I’ll have to do it, then,” Bucky said, and headed toward the pair. He’d been good at flirting, once upon a time, had even stolen a date from Steve once or twice; time to see if he still had it. For Steve.

***

As Tony was heading toward the communal kitchen for coffee, he heard laughter and the background sounds of a movie coming from the rec room. He peeked in to see two people on the sofa--Steve, and an unfamiliar brunette sitting tucked into Steve’s side as they laughed at some stupid sitcom. Tony moved on before they could notice him, a bitter taste in his mouth.

Bucky was sitting at the table, using a fork to move potatoes around his plate but not actually bringing any to his mouth. His eyes were narrowed, but out of focus.

Tony started the coffee machine, then turned back to look at Bucky. “Who’s Steve’s guest?”

Bucky frowned. “Some reporter whose life he saved in that attack last Tuesday.”

“So is she here because she wants to ‘show her gratitude’, or is she hoping for a good story out of him?”

Bucky huffed. “Think it’s a little of both. She’s been asking him questions about his past, pretending to be sympathetic and caring and crap, but she doesn’t stop when he gets uncomfortable. She just backs off for a minute, then brings it up again later.”

Tony looked toward the doorway, noticing the laughter had died down, replaced by quiet voices, though he couldn’t make out the words. He sighed, looking back at Bucky. “He deserves better.”

Bucky nodded, then froze. “She’s trying to get him to invite her to his room for the night.”

Tony tensed. “What’s he saying?” He couldn’t decide if Bucky’s enhanced senses from the experiments Hydra did on him were a blessing or a curse.

“He’s not saying no, so she’s--” Bucky winced, and Tony decided the enhanced hearing was probably a curse. “Trying harder to convince him.”

Yeah, that wasn't happening. “JARVIS,” Tony said, “Tell Steve I need to reschedule our training session tomorrow to 6 am, because I’ll be busy the rest of the day with SI business.”

“Of course, Sir,” JARVIS replied. “Ms. Potts will be thrilled to hear you’ll be attending the board meeting after all.”

Tony grimaced. He’d forgotten about that. Well, he supposed, at least now he wasn’t lying. And it’d be worth it to sit through the insufferable meeting if this worked.

He watched Bucky’s face, and saw the relief a moment before he heard the television turn off in the other room.

“She’s leaving,” Bucky confirmed, and gave Tony a relieved smile.

***

Bucky had been pounding away at a punching bag for fifteen minutes--the left side already showing some wear from his metal fist, despite being reinforced for super soldiers--when he noticed Tony entering the gym. The other man was dressed in his lab attire--jeans and a tank top--and didn’t move to use any of the equipment. He just stood watching Bucky, apparently waiting to be acknowledged.

Bucky ignored the man and continued beating the bag for another five minutes, smirking as Tony started to look impatient.

Finally, he stopped and looked at Tony expectantly, not saying a word.

“I think you should go to Wilson’s support group at the VA next time Steve goes.”

Bucky scowled. “He’s got _you_ hounding me about it now?” he growled.

“Nope. Don’t know if it’d do you any good or not. That’s not why I want you to go.”

Bucky let his face show his confusion.

“Steve mentioned a guy, Jacob, who invited him to get ‘coffee.’“

“And him getting ‘coffee,’” Bucky put the same emphasis on the word Tony had, “Bothers you?” Sure, it bothered him, too, but he wasn’t about to admit it. Steve could live his own life.

“Well, I did a little digging on the guy--”

“Wait, I thought they only used first names at those things; how’d you find information on the right Jacob?”

“He signed up for their mailing list. Turns out the security on their servers is laughable--”

“You hacked into the VA files?” Bucky knew Steve would be horrified, but he found himself more amused than anything.

“The _point_ being,” Tony continued, “That Jacob Shorter has a history of domestic violence. Put his last boyfriend in the hospital. His attendance in the group is court-mandated.”

Bucky's amusement vanished. “Steve can take care of himself,” he reminded Tony--and himself. Gone were the days of scrawny Steve Rogers getting beaten in back alleys. Still...

“He can,” Tony agreed, but his eyes suggested he knew what Bucky’s decision was going to be.

“Yeah, maybe I should tag along to one of those meetings after all. See if I can’t convince this Jacob he’d be better off finding another group.”

Tony’s smile was grimly satisfied.

***

Tony was finishing up the final adjustments to Bucky’s arm after his latest upgrade when Steve came into the workshop.

“Hey, Tony, I--Oh, hey, Buck.”

Tony looked up to see Steve in his running attire, his (marvelously) too-tight t-shirt almost drenched in sweat, his skin glistening. Tony shut his mouth to make sure he wasn’t drooling. It took a lot of exertion for Steve to break a sweat (and how many times had he fantasized about being an active participant in that exertion?), so he must’ve run even longer than usual.

Which became even more evident when he held up the paper bag he’d carried in and looked at Tony. “Brought you burgers from that place you like in Queens. Figured you might not’ve eaten today.”

Tony looked between the bag and Steve, suddenly ravenous, but he wasn’t sure if it was for food or something else entirely.

“Aww, nothin’ in that bag for me?” Bucky asked, his voice teasing.

Steve grinned. “Got a Nathan’s Famous for you upstairs. Didn’t realize you were down here.”

Bucky’s eyes widened. “I could kiss you.” Then he winced, and added, “Except you reek, pal. I can smell you more than I can smell those burgers.”

That was true, but honestly, Tony was finding the scent a bit of a turn-on. He suspected Bucky had only said that as a diversion from his too-truthful admission.

Steve laughed. “Point taken; I’m going to shower now. Make sure you get up there before Thor finds your dog, though.”

“I will. Thanks, Stevie.”

“And you’d better eat, too, Tony!”

As Steve left, Tony found his eyes following that magnificent ass. When he turned back to Bucky, he caught the other man watching the same thing. He cleared his throat. “So. Uh. I’ll finish this up, and we can go eat.”

“Yeah,” Bucky agreed, shifting oddly on the lab bench. His knee brushed Tony’s crotch, and Tony gasped, not having realized that he was half hard. Bucky stilled and looked down, just as Tony saw that the other man was having a similar issue.

“Or...” Tony had an idea forming that just might get him decked by the very arm he’d been upgrading.

“Or?” Bucky met his eyes, his face frustratingly neutral.

“Okay, two options here: One, we pretend this never happened and go beat our--eat our meat separately. Or two, we help each other out here. Get some... mutual relief.” He gestured blatantly between their erections.

Bucky licked his lips, eyes back on Tony’s bulge.

The hungry look in his eyes made Tony even harder, but he couldn’t stop himself from saying, “But if we go with option two, here? I don’t think I want you sucking my dick while thinking about your hot dog.”

Bucky snorted. “Okay, then. Option two, no blowjobs.”

“Well, burgers aren't particularly phallic, so I could still blow you, you know, if you want...”


	2. Something More

Bucky tried to focus on the punching bag, but his eyes kept being drawn to the sparring match in the boxing ring.

Steve’s movements were swift, graceful, and powerful. His punches hit their target before his opponent knew they were coming; his muscular legs swept up and changed direction just as his opponent tried to adjust. He was gorgeous.

Tony was well-muscled, but his reaction time was pathetic. Most of his time was spent on the defensive, and if his super soldier opponent had been using his full strength, Tony would’ve been knocked out a dozen times over. When he did attempt an attack, he telegraphed his intent so obviously that Steve barely had to shift to avoid being touched.

Bucky was impressed, though, that every time Tony took a hit or went down, he came back more determined. And he was getting better, focused eyes picking up on subtle signals of an incoming movement, avoiding one or two attacks he’d fallen for earlier in the match.

When Steve managed to sweep Tony’s legs, Tony rolled at an odd angle, so Steve fell onto his side instead of his chest. Bucky winced, knowing the impact must have hurt. He heard Steve question Tony’s move and Tony’s stammered excuse, but Bucky smirked as he saw the real reason.

Tony didn’t want Steve to feel the bulge in his pants.

Bucky couldn’t blame him. Just watching Steve’s elegant dance of a fight was turning him on; being up close and personal with those muscles was a heady experience, and it was a miracle Steve had never noticed the effect he had on his friends.

After another takedown, Steve decided Tony had had enough for the day. He offered Tony a hand up, but the engineer just waved him away. “I just need to lay here for another ten, fifteen minutes; then maybe I’ll have the strength to move again.”

“If you’re really that winded, maybe I should have you start doing laps every day.”

“...If by ‘doing laps’ you mean lap dances, you’re on.”

Steve rolled his eyes, then climbed down out of the ring. He smiled at Bucky, then headed out.

Bucky sauntered toward the ring, smirking down at Tony. “So are you really that wiped out, or did you just not want him to notice what’s goin’ on in your pants?”

“Fuck you, Barnes.”

Bucky smirked. “Sure that wouldn’t be too much strenuous activity for you?”

Tony looked up at Bucky, then down at his crotch. “You offering more ‘mutual relief’?”

Bucky shrugged. “If you’re up for it.”

“Oh, I’m _up_ for it.”

***

The waiter leaned over Steve again, whispering something in his ear, and Tony tried not to glare. If the waiter had been a woman, Tony was sure she would have been thrusting her cleavage into Steve’s face by this point.

Usually Tony enjoyed the team’s tradition of going out to eat together after a battle. But right now, he could do without seeing this “grateful citizen” blatantly hitting on Captain America while he was trying to eat. Even if Steve’s hair was delightfully mussed from his pushed-back cowl, sweat and dirt from the battle somehow making him even more attractive.

Tony was trying to focus on his food when Bucky leaned over to murmur in his ear, “He’s in a gang. Or he was.”

There was no question who Bucky was talking about. “How do you know?” Tony asked quietly.

“Tattoo on his arm.”

Tony’s eyes flicked over the man’s arms, seeing a hint of ink barely visible from under his left shirt sleeve.

“It’s the mark of a gang in western Sokovia.”

Tony frowned. “You sure?”

“Not a hundred percent. But he’s got a hint of an accent that could be from the right region.”

“Maybe he came to America to get away from all that, get a clean slate.”

“Maybe,” Bucky allowed. “Think Steve should give him the benefit of the doubt?”

Tony watched the waiter refill Steve’s water--while Tony’s own drink had been sitting empty for ten minutes--and deliberately brush Steve’s fingers, almost a caress. “He would, wouldn’t he.”

When the waiter dropped the bill holder in front of Steve, winking at him, Tony reached across the table and grabbed it. “I got this.” He noticed the waiter biting back a protest and found a piece of receipt paper with a phone number scrawled on it. Tony discreetly pocketed it, then put his credit card in with the bill and handed it back to the waiter innocently. The man smiled unconvincingly as he took it.

When the waiter returned, Tony added a hefty tip, much more than the cost of the rather hefty feast they’d ordered--along with a note suggesting the server find something else to do, something that would not require speaking to Captain America ever again. Tony let Bucky read the note and nod in approval before he handed the bill holder back to the waiter with a smug smile.

Bucky leaned over to whisper in his ear again, this time to ask, “So, what would you say to some post-battle ‘mutual relief’ when we get back?”

Tony glanced toward Steve as he answered. “Sounds like a plan.”

***

Bucky watched from across the club as Tony approached the scantily-clad woman rubbing herself against a smiling but uncomfortable-looking Steve. Tony said something in the woman’s ear, and she turned, wrapping her arms around Tony’s neck instead. Steve stood there awkwardly for a moment, then quickly moved away.

Where he went, however, Bucky didn’t see. His eyes were still glued to the woman now gyrating against Tony. The discomfort he’d felt in the pit of his stomach when she was with Steve hadn’t decreased, was only getting worse as Tony’s hands fell to the bare skin at her waist.

Fuck.

Tony was just getting her away from Steve, that was all. Even if that meant… doing something more with her, that was none of his business.

Bucky imagined Tony pulling her into a back room, sliding his hands under that too-short skirt. Using his talented fingers to pleasure her as she moaned against him.

Bucky was moving forward through the crowd before he’d consciously decided to do so. When he gripped Tony’s arm, the man looked up, startled, then worried at whatever he saw in Bucky’s face. “What’s wrong?” he asked, voice raised to be heard over the loud music.

“I have to talk to you.” Bucky pulled him away, ignoring the woman’s pout before she headed off to find some other hot body to grind against.

Bucky dragged Tony into a dark back room of the club, where the music was quieter. Here, the air was filled with soft murmurs and moans from others who had retreated to the relative privacy for more intimate encounters. He turned to Tony, who still looked worried, and wondered what he could say that wouldn’t sound inappropriately jealous and possessive.

So instead he decided on _doing_ something inappropriately jealous and possessive. He pressed Tony against the wall, hands on his shoulders, knee between his legs, and mouth devouring Tony’s before moving along his jaw to his ear.

“Interesting way of ‘talking,’ but I’m not complaining,” Tony commented, relaxing and putting his hands on Bucky’s waist.

Remembering him doing the same to that woman, Bucky growled, thrusting his hips forward and drawing a gasp from Tony. He captured the man’s lips for another bruising kiss.

“Well, that explains some things,” a familiar voice broke through Bucky’s focus.

He pulled back and saw Clint in the doorway, smirking at them.

“Scram, Barton,” Tony said, pulling Bucky back against him.

“He’s gonna tell the others,” Bucky warned.

“Do you care?” Tony’s voice was casual, but his body was tense.

“Nah,” Bucky replied lightly, then went back to ravishing the man before him.

***

Tony grabbed the ear protection inside the door of the range and made his way over to the sniper taking careful aim at a distant paper target. He stood a few feet back and waited, fairly certain the other man had noticed his entrance but not wanting to risk startling him just in case. He watched silently as holes appeared in the target’s head--two where the eyes would be, then several forming the curve of a mouth.

Pulling back from the propped-up rifle, Bucky looked back at Tony with a smug grin.

Tony rolled his eyes and removed his ear muffs. “Yeah, yeah, very impressive, I thought you’d like Lethal Weapon, did you know that Steve thinks we’re in a relationship?”

Not wearing ear protection himself, despite Tony’s insistence that one hearing-impaired sharpshooter on the team was plenty, Bucky responded to Tony’s abrupt question with an eyebrow raise. “Yeah. He talked to me about it.”

Tony hesitated before asking, “What did you tell him?”

Bucky shrugged. “I didn’t correct him. He went on about how ‘right for each other’ we were, I didn’t have the heart to tell him we’re just fucking.”

Tony let out a breath. “Yeah. Good. I didn’t, either. So, uh. Does this… change things?”

Bucky’s face was frustratingly blank. “Change things?”

“Do we start acting like we’re dating around the others? We’ll probably have to find ways other than flirting with handsy strangers to get them away from Steve.”

That got a response, a flash of something in Bucky’s eyes as he replied a little too quickly, “Yeah. We should probably do that.”

Aha. Tony had wondered if Bucky’s odd (if hot) behavior at the club the other night had been the result of jealousy, but had dismissed the idea. Now it seemed more likely, and Tony’s stomach fluttered at the thought. It gave him the courage to ask, “So how about we do a date-type thing here? Watch a movie, make some popcorn--there are more Lethal Weapon movies, actually, we could watch those.”

Bucky smiled. “Sure, sounds good.”

“Can’t watch the last two with Thor around, anyway, since he gets all teary-eyed whenever Lorna’s onscreen for some reason, and then starts throwing things...” Tony kept talking, trying to cover the sudden nervousness he was feeling, which was stupid, dates didn’t make him nervous and this wasn’t even a real date anyway. Really.

***

Bucky wasn’t sure how going on a few keeping-up-appearances dates with Tony had led to a double date with Steve and the latest SHIELD agent Natasha had set him up with, but here they were.

The last double date Bucky’d been on with Steve had been over seventy years ago. Bucky hadn't realized at the time that he was really more interested in spending time with Steve than with the lovely ladies--who were themselves more interested in him than in Steve. He hadn’t yet acknowledged that he was queer, and certainly wouldn’t have guessed it of Steve, despite the insults that were frequently thrown at his diminutive friend.

Now all four parties of the double date were men, and three of them wanted Steve. How times changed.

It was difficult for Bucky, watching Steve being genuinely entertained by the agent’s--Marc’s--description of the latest batch of recruits. Worse, though, was seeing his face when Marc started mocking “this little shrimp of a guy, can’t believe he thinks he’ll be able to stand up against--” The jackass finally noticed the look on Steve’s face and realized what he’d done. “Oh, shit, you were… I didn’t mean…”

Steve gave a pained smile and shook his head. “No, it’s fine.” He stood from the booth. “I need to use the restroom, excuse me.”

Marc had a chagrined look on his face as he watched Steve go, then looked across the table to Bucky and Tony. “I just blew it, didn’t I?”

Bucky shrugged. “Steve’s a forgiving guy.” His gaze hardened. “We’re not.”

“You hurt Steve, you make enemies of Iron Man and the Winter Soldier.” Tony’s casual tone of voice didn’t make his words any less threatening. He turned his head to address Bucky. “Hey, hypothetically, that trick with the target--you think you could do that even if the target started to fall after the first shot?”

Bucky took a moment to consider. “It’d be tougher, but probably. You think you could hack a SHIELD agent’s file, get him assigned somewhere particularly nasty?”

“Sure. Hypothetically. I could also get into someone’s bank accounts, move things around so they can’t pay off that mortgage they’re working on. Or get a lot of money transferred in from suspicious Latverian accounts, then send in a tip about it, so they could be charged with treason. Hypothetically.”

Bucky watched Marc’s face growing paler, and smiled. “You alright there, pal? You don’t need to worry about any of this, ‘cause you’re not planning to hurt Steve again, right?”

Marc chuckled nervously and started to stand, just as Steve was coming back to the table.

“What’s…?” Steve began.

“I, uh, gotta go,” Marc blurted. “SHIELD emergency. Nothing--nothing big, just… uh…” He didn’t complete the sentence before rocketing out of the restaurant.

Steve watched him go in confusion, then looked back to the still seated Bucky and Tony. “Well, um. I guess I’ll pay for his and my meals and head back--”

“No--” Bucky replied, just as Tony was asking, “Why?”

“Not really a double date now, is it? You two can enjoy the rest of the evening--”

“Or the three of us can. It don’t have to be a date,” Bucky argued.

Steve looked uncertainly between them. “You sure? I wouldn’t want to be a third wheel.”

“Stay,” Tony said.

Steve stayed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope Tony and Bucky didn't come across as too big of assholes in that last scene. Dick though he was, Marc probably didn't deserve that. But what can I say, the boys are protective of their Steve.
> 
> Anyway, my chapter divisions didn't really allow for cliffhangers, so to keep you interested (or possibly mad at me) until the next update, here's a preview of Chapter 3...
> 
>  
> 
> “ _Bucky!_ ”
> 
> Steve’s scream distracted Tony from the Doombots he was fighting; one got in a hit that actually dented the armor. A repulsor to the head stopped that one, but Tony ignored the others nearby in favor of launching himself toward where he’d last seen Bucky. “What happened? Bucky? Cap?”
> 
> Tony was hoping for Bucky’s voice insisting that he was fine. Instead, he got Steve’s tense reply, “Winter Soldier is down. Chest wound, needs medical attention ASAP.”


	3. We Need to Talk

“ _Bucky!_ ”

Steve’s scream distracted Tony from the Doombots he was fighting; one got in a hit that actually dented the armor. A repulsor to the head stopped that one, but Tony ignored the others nearby in favor of launching himself toward where he’d last seen Bucky. “What happened? Bucky? Cap?”

Tony was hoping for Bucky’s voice insisting that he was fine. Instead, he got Steve’s tense reply, “Winter Soldier is down. Chest wound, needs medical attention ASAP.”

_Fuck_. “I’m on my way,” Tony reported, having JARVIS bring up information on the nearest emergency room. “I can get him to the hospital in under three minutes.”

Iron Man flew over the crowd of Doombots closing in on the wounded soldier, shoulder missiles taking out as many as he could without risking hitting Steve or Bucky. Steve was crouched over Bucky’s still, bloody form, one hand pressing on his bloody chest while the other held up the shield, beating back the enemy as best he could. 

He looked up at Tony’s approach, and helped him lift Bucky as gently as possible. “Go,” Captain America ordered. Tony was already moving.

“Cap,” Natasha’s voice sounded almost apologetic over the comms, “We’re not going to get through this fight if we’re down both Winter Soldier and Iron Man.”

And shit, Tony knew that. Bucky would never forgive him--he’d never forgive himself--if something happened to Steve while he was gone. But the man in his arms was so still, and if JARVIS hadn’t been showing him Bucky’s vital signs through the HUD Tony might have ripped off a gauntlet mid-flight just to check for a pulse.

“Dammit,” Cap sounded resigned. “Iron Man, get him to the ER, but then get back here to help us finish this.”

Tony swallowed hard. “JARVIS, I need you to get into the hospital’s systems. Give them the details they’ll need to treat him fast, and once they’ve got him hooked up, I want real-time updates on how he’s doing up on the HUD.”

“Access acquired, Sir; however, might I suggest that such updates may prove distracting while--”

“Don’t care, just do it.”

“Iron Man, confirm orders,” Captain America’s firm command almost masked Steve Rogers’ concern and regret.

“Got it, Cap, dropping him off and coming back,” Tony replied, coming in for a landing just outside the emergency room. He placed Bucky on the waiting gurney, then flipped up his faceplate to kiss the man’s pale forehead. “Back as soon as I can, sweet pea,” he whispered, then yielded the gurney to the medical staff and returned to the fight.

If he took a few hits during the battle when the display showing Bucky’s heart rate flatlined for a moment, at least JARVIS didn’t say anything about it.

Later, Tony stood beside the hospital bed, watching the sleeping man breathe. In and out. He’d been stabilized; whatever HYDRA had done to him had given him a healing factor almost as effective as Steve’s. He was still sleeping off the drugs from surgery, but the doctors were optimistic. Tony reached down to brush a stray lock of hair away from his eyes.

“You really love him, don’t you?”

Tony’s eyes flashed up to Steve, standing on the other side of the bed. “What?”

Steve’s reassuring smile looked a touch sad. “He’s going to be okay, Tony.”

“Yeah,” Tony agreed, looking back down at Bucky, heart suddenly racing.

He loved him.

Shit.

***

Pain woke him. Beeping equipment and antiseptic smells suggested a medical facility. Someone was leaning over him. He flung an arm out to keep them away, grunting at the increased pain.

There were shouts and panic, then a single strong voice broke through. “You’re okay, you’re safe. You--no, goddamn it, you are not putting him in fucking restraints, he’ll just freak out more and break through them anyway--fuck, sorry, relax. You’re safe. You’re…”

He faded out.

When Bucky awoke again, the pain was less, and he knew who he was, if not where exactly. A hospital, apparently. He blinked in confusion at the giant red stuffed bear sitting on a chair in the corner, “Get Well Soon!” balloons floating from it. “--the hell is that?” he mumbled.

There was a chuckle to his left, and he turned his head to see Steve smiling down at him. “Hey, Buck.”

“Stevie.” His voice crackled a little, and Steve offered him a small cup of water. He managed to sit up enough to drink it, then asked, “Why is there an enormous stuffed bear staring at me?”

“Tony got it for you.”

“How’d he even get it through the door?”

“He cursed a lot. It was pretty funny.”

“You just sat and watched, didn’t you?”

“Yep.” Steve’s eyes glinted with amusement, then became serious. “How’re you feeling?”

Bucky shrugged, partially to see if he could do so without pain. It pulled a little, but didn’t hurt. “Had worse.”

“You got hit pretty bad. You had us worried. Especially Tony. He was in here with you all night--I had to send him home to get some sleep.”

“...Which means he’s probably in his workshop.”

Steve gave a wry smile. “Working on better protective gear for you, no doubt.”

Bucky felt a warmth in his chest that he didn’t think was related to his injuries. “So how long--”

A knock came from the half-open door, and a nurse came in carrying a tray with a steaming mug. “Captain, I brought you--oh, Mr. Barnes, you’re awake!”

Bucky stared at the man, refusing to reply to his statement of the obvious.

Apparently discomfited by Bucky’s gaze, the nurse handed the tray to Steve, who thanked him, blushing. Huh. After looking at Steve for a moment longer than necessary, the nurse finally turned to take Bucky’s vitals. He told them (while again gazing at Steve) that the doctor would be along in a minute, then left.

Bucky gave Steve a smirk. “Charming the nurses, huh?”

Steve looked down at the mug, then set it aside, sighing. “Not trying to. I think… I’m actually gonna avoid romance for a while.”

After a surge of pleased relief, Bucky immediately felt guilty. “Yeah? Why is that?”

Steve shook his head. “Things just haven’t been going well lately. Bad luck, or--maybe I just keep trying with the wrong people.”

When the doctor came in, Bucky’s chest was hurting again, but he didn’t mention it. He doubted painkillers would help with the guilt.

***

Tony looked up from his plans for the new and improved Winter Soldier body armor when the man himself walked in. Tony’s eyes roamed Bucky’s chest, arms, and face, but saw no evidence of the grievous injuries he’d received the day before.

“They let you out already?” he asked casually.

“What, you didn’t have JARVIS hack into the hospital’s systems and let you know the minute I was released?”

Tony opened his mouth, then closed it. “Don’t be ridiculous, that would be illegal.”

“Uh-huh.” Bucky smirked. He came in, sitting on a lab table near Tony. “Tony... we need to talk.”

For a moment, Tony was sure the surgeons who had removed the arc reactor and shrapnel from his chest had missed a piece, and it had finally reached his heart. He swallowed painfully. “Right. Figures,” he muttered to himself, staring hard at the holographic plans.

“What?” Bucky sounded concerned.

“The ‘it’s not you, it’s me,’ talk, right? I guess I knew all along that our little fake relationship had an expiration date.”

Suddenly he was being spun toward Bucky, flesh and metal hands coming up to rest on his shoulders. Tony was forced to meet Bucky’s eyes, and he saw panic there. “No. That’s not--I mean, I guess we gotta talk about that, too. But--” Bucky pulled Tony in and planted a quick, rough kiss on his lips, leaving him both hungry for more and very, very confused. “It’s not that kind of talk, no.”

“What kind of talk is it, then?” Tony felt lost, unsteady.

Bucky stared intently at him for a moment, then dropped his arms and backed off, just a step back to a more comfortable chatting distance. “Yeah, you know, maybe we do that talk first.” He took a deep breath. “So, we started this whole thing between us because we both wanted Steve, right?”

Tony nodded warily.

“‘Mutual relief’ sex, and then a ‘fake relationship’ so we wouldn’t disappoint Steve? ‘Cept I think it became more than that.”

Tony’s heart was pounding, equal parts hope and fear.

“I think I went and got feelings for you, and maybe you started feeling something for me, too.” It wasn’t a question, but there was the smallest hint of uncertainty showing in Bucky’s eyes. At Tony’s nod, Bucky gave a relieved smile. “So what say we take that ‘fake’ part out, and just call it a relationship?”

“Okay,” Tony started, clearing his dry throat, “Yeah, that’s, that sounds like a good plan, I like this plan.” Then, because apparently he couldn’t just accept a good thing being handed to him, he found himself adding, “But full disclosure, I’m a terrible boyfriend, Pepper’s the only one in the last... several decades that’s lasted more than a month, and I even managed to chase her away, I’m no good at remem--”

“Hey.” Bucky looked at him with a fond smile, and god, Tony would do whatever he had to to get that smile more often. “I don’t know what Steve has told you, but I wasn’t all that great at long-term relationships, either, and that was _before_ I was brainwashed and turned into an assassin for Hydra. We know we’ve both got problems; maybe we can help each other through them, maybe we crash and burn. But I’m thinking it’s worth a shot.”

Tony stared at Bucky, blinking. “Not exactly a Cap-caliber inspirational speech there, but yeah, point taken.”

“Good. Now, speaking of Steve, he’s the reason I wanted to talk in the first place...” Bucky’s face turned solemn, but Tony felt lighter now, more prepared for whatever this talk would be. “At the hospital, one of the nurses was flirting with him--”

“Was it Randall or Emily? I’ll get JARVIS to run a background check--”

“No. That’s the thing, Tony, we’ve gotta stop fucking with Steve’s love life.”

“We’re just keeping the bad apples away--”

“We’re keeping _everyone_ away. No one’s good enough for our Stevie, right?”

Tony wanted to contradict him, point out some date of Steve’s that they hadn’t interfered with… but he was drawing a blank. Most of them had been people Tony himself would’ve gone out with, or at least taken to bed, before Afghanistan, anyway. But Bucky was right. They just weren’t good enough for Steve. “They weren’t… he’ll find someone good enough eventually.” The thought still hurt, though not as much as it might have before.

“Will he?” Bucky asked. “Or will we always find something wrong with them, because we’re in love with him and can’t stand to see him with anyone else?”

As soon as Bucky said it, Tony knew that that was exactly what they’d been doing. Maybe he'd known that all along, but had buried the thought so he could convince himself they were just protecting their friend. “Damn,” he said, closing his eyes.

“Yeah. And we’re hurting him.”

Tony’s eyes flew open and he stared at Bucky. “What?”

“He’s giving up on dating, ‘cause he thinks he’s the problem.”

The idea that they were hurting Steve was more painful than the thought of Steve seeing someone else. He sighed. “Okay. We’ll quit cockblocking every person who smiles at him. But some of them have been legitimate threats.”

“He’s Steve. If we do find out they’re a real threat, we’ll tell him, and he can handle it. He’s gonna be pretty pissed when he finds out we’ve been ‘protecting’ him like this.”

Tony winced. “If. You mean if, not when. Right?”

“We gotta tell him, Tony. He needs to know all his failed dates weren’t his fault.”

“Shit. Yeah, fine, great. First thing we’ll do as a real couple is get chewed out by a pissed-off Steve Rogers. Sounds fun.”

Bucky gave him a suggestive grin. “Or we could have real-couple sex first, _then_ get chewed out by a pissed-off Steve Rogers.”

Tony snapped and pointed at Bucky. “Much better idea. Let’s go with that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How will Steve take Tony and Bucky's confession? Find out in Chapter 4: Punishment.
> 
> Just one chapter and an epilogue left! Thanks for all the comments and kudos; they're helping me smile during a rough time.


	4. Punishment

“So you’re telling me that you found something negative in anyone who showed the slightest interest in stepping out with me, then found some way to scare off every one of them?”

Steve’s calm, curious expression wasn’t fooling Bucky. He’d seen that look before, often just before a much smaller Steve threw a punch at a guy twice his size.

“Yeah,” Tony agreed, his own tone and posture falsely casual. “That’s about the size of it.”

“Instead of talking to me about it, and letting me make my own decisions.”

“Yep. Dickish thing to do. Sorry. Our bad.”

“And you got some of this information illegally?”

“Well, really, the hacking was all me,” Tony acknowledged.

“Threats I made might’ve broken some laws.” Bucky wasn’t going to let Tony take all the blame there.

Steve put one hand over his face, and Bucky had a sudden memory flash of Steve’s mom doing the same when the two boys had done something stupid and dangerous. Then Steve dropped his hand and looked up at them. “Why?”

“We wanted to protect you from assholes,” Tony answered quickly, shooting Bucky a pleading look, begging him not to share the real reason.

“Most of them seemed like perfectly decent people, Tony.”

“You deserve better than them,” Bucky said. Then he added, quietly, “Better than us.” He could feel Tony’s panicked gaze, but kept his attention on Steve.

Steve’s eyes widened, and he stared intently at Bucky, then at Tony, then off into the distance, as if processing something.

Bucky felt the tension in the air as he and Tony waited for Steve’s response.

Finally, Steve glanced between them again, with none of the intensity of before, and said politely, “Thank you for telling me.”

Then he walked out of the room.

***

For the next several days, Tony expected… something… from Steve. Some sort of punishment for what they’d done, maybe, or Steve avoiding them, or somehow treating them differently. Instead, Steve acted as though nothing had happened, like their confession hadn’t affected him at all.

At team movie night, Steve made the popcorn as usual, joined in the banter over plot holes in the movie, and seemed perfectly at ease. He smiled at Tony when Bucky, who had curled against Tony so he was half in the other man’s lap, started snoring. He casually tossed a paper plate to block a piece of popcorn Clint had thrown at the sleeping man.

When the movie ended, everyone headed off to bed, leaving Tony stranded with the sleeping Bucky. He knew both of them would wake up with neck pain if they stayed like this, so he nudged the other man awake. “Wake up, sleeping beauty.”

Bucky snorted, then tensed, taking a moment to assess waking up in an unfamiliar position. He relaxed almost immediately, however, then stretched, pushing the lower part of his body against Tony’s as his arms stretched backwards. Tony put his hands on the bare skin at Bucky’s hips where his t-shirt had ridden up, suddenly not at all sleepy. From the look in Bucky’s eyes, neither was he.

Bucky shifted to properly straddle Tony’s lap, ducking down for a kiss and rocking his hips slowly. Tony started pushing his shirt up, running his fingers over the strong muscles in his chest along the way. Breaking the kiss to get the shirt over Bucky’s head, he then started mouthing along Bucky’s shoulder, nibbling lightly as he approached the junction where his prosthetic arm began.

“Maybe we should move this to a bedroom?” Bucky asked, slightly breathless, hips moving faster now.

“It’s my tower; it’s my couch; I think I can make out wherever I want.”

Bucky gasped at a rougher bite, and Tony began sliding a hand down the back of his jeans.

Then, seeing movement by the door, Tony froze.

“Uh, sorry,” Steve said, eyes flickering between the two on the couch and the wall behind them. “I just--I accidentally pulled the faucet off in my shower, and it’s leaking. I can put some towels down and sleep in a guest bedroom if you can’t get to it tonight, but--”

“No, it’s fine, I’ll be right there.” Tony took a deep breath, trying to will his erection down. Bucky didn’t help, rubbing against him again as he slowly moved to stand up. He gave Tony a heated look, pouting ever so slightly, and it was hard (no pun intended) for Tony to tear his gaze away to follow Steve back to his room.

Staring at Steve’s ass as he followed didn’t make things easier, either.

***

While Bucky found Tony’s mattress to be far too soft, there were benefits to sleeping there.

Such as waking up to something not-so-soft poking him through his briefs.

Bucky shifted from his position as little spoon to face a slowly blinking awake Tony. “Want help with that?” he asked, licking his lips deliberately. “I could go for some breakfast in bed.”

It was funny to watch Tony’s pre-coffee brain trying desperately to wake up enough to process the offer. He seemed to get the gist of it, enough that he slowly nodded a few seconds later.

Bucky grinned, then tunneled beneath the sheets to find his prize.

Tony was starting to sound more awake, vocalizing his pleasure, when JARVIS’ voice interrupted. “Pardon me, sirs, but Captain Rogers is wondering if Sergeant Barnes might be willing to accompany him to visit Ms. Carter this morning.”

Bucky shifted out from beneath the blankets, evoking a whine of complaint from Tony. “Uh, yeah, tell him I’ll be ready in less than an hour.”

JARVIS apparently relayed the information, then spoke again, “The Captain hopes to leave within fifteen minutes. Ms. Carter has a special procedure scheduled for later this morning.”

“Shit. Okay.” He looked at Tony. “Guess I gotta get in the shower now.”

Tony looked disappointed but understanding. “Not finishing what you start, huh, Barnes?”

“Finish for me?” Bucky leaned forward to give him a quick kiss before climbing out of bed to grab a quick, _cold_ shower.

***

Tony gazed at the delicious sight before him: a naked Bucky Barnes, draped seductively over the hood of his orange R8. He licked his lips, but just said, “You better not scratch the paint with that metal arm of yours, Barnes.”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “If you suck me, I’ll just keep that hand in your hair. But I guess that means you don’t want to bend me over and fuck me against the car, then?”

With that mental image, Tony’s mouth felt dry and he licked his lips again. “What the hell, I can repaint, repair, whatever.” He lunged for his nearest bottle of lube and then stalked toward the smirking Bucky.

He had just pulled the other man in for a rough kiss when JARVIS interrupted. “Excuse me, Sir, the door to Captain Rogers’ suite has been damaged. He requests your aid in opening it as soon as possible.”

Tony groaned, dropping his head to push his forehead against Bucky’s bare chest. “I swear, it’s like he’s doing it on purpose.” He felt Bucky freeze, and realization hit him in the same moment. He looked up and met Bucky’s gaze. “Sonofabitch.”

“He’s doing it on purpose.”

“We cockblocked him; he cockblocks us.”

“But how does he even know…?”

“JARVIS,” Tony said slowly. “Did Steve ask you to tell him whenever Bucky and I are about to get down and dirty?”

There was a pause. Tony never liked it when JARVIS hesitated. “He did not use those precise words, but Captain Rogers did request information regarding your activities with Sergeant Barnes. Given that the nature of his request was similar to requests you have previously made regarding his activities, I did not believe it would be incorrect to relay this information.”

Bucky raised his eyebrows. “Is your AI scolding you?”

Tony waved an arm. “He’s always done that. Cockblocking, though, that’s a new one. My AI is helping Captain America cockblock me. I did not see that one coming.” Tony shook his head. “But his door’s really broken, JARVIS?”

“It is, Sir.” JARVIS gave no further information, but Tony had the feeling even the AI knew Steve had broken it deliberately.

“Like the damn faucet,” he muttered. “Must’ve pulled that out on purpose, conniving son of a bitch.”

“So are you going to go fix it?” Bucky asked. “Or let him suffer?”

Tony thought for a moment. “ _We_ are going to go see him. I think it’s time we called him on this.”

“I should probably get dressed, then, huh?”

“...if you must.”

***

Steve was apparently getting to be a better liar. Bucky had thought he could tell when Steve was looking falsely contrite, but he might have bought it right now if he hadn’t known for a fact what Steve had been doing.

“Don’t know your own strength, huh, Cap?” Tony asked as they approached, eyeing the jammed door.

Bucky caught the movement of Steve’s eyes, taking in their disheveled appearance.

“I’m really sorry about this, Tony. I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.”

“Bullshit.” Bucky crossed his arms. “You little punk, you know exactly what we were doing, and you interrupted us on purpose.”

Steve met Bucky’s eyes, face suddenly neutral. “Sounds like a dickish thing to do.” Bucky recognized Tony’s words from their confession.

Tony clearly remembered as well, looking over at Steve. “So, this is our punishment, then?”

Steve hesitated. “...yes and no.” He looked between them, then turned to the jammed door. He put his shoulder against it, lifted and twisted and it seemed to slide back into place, the small scratches near the top and hinges the only sign that it had been damaged. Steve opened it smoothly, gesturing for them to go inside. “We should talk.”

Tony gave him a flat look before heading in, and Bucky followed.

Steve closed the door behind them and moved to sit on the easy chair in his small living area. He gestured to the couch in invitation. Bucky sat, but Tony remained standing, arms crossed. He looked angry, but Bucky got the sense he was feeling more vulnerable and uncertain than mad.

“Well?” Tony asked. “What’s this all been about, then? You don’t usually seem the passive-aggressive, eye-for-an-eye kind of guy.”

“That was some of it,” Steve admitted. “I did interrupt you during intimate moments, like you did with me.”

“Cockblocked. You did it; you can say the word. You cockblocked us. I really didn’t think you had it in you, Cap.”

Steve’s eyes flashed. “That’s exactly--!” He took a deep breath, calming himself. “What I did was worse, really. I interrupted you when you were with someone you really wanted to be with.”

Bucky blinked. “You didn’t want to be with any of those people?”

“So we _were_ protecting you!” Tony looked vindicated, until Steve turned to glare at him.

“I never wanted protection,” Steve spat. “I wanted--” He cut himself off.

“Why have you been cockblocking us, Steve?” Bucky asked quietly.

Steve sighed. “To show you that I don’t deserve better than you.” The confession was almost a whisper.

The room was silent for a long moment.

“What?” Tony broke the silence, all antagonism gone.

Steve took a deep breath. “I went on so many dates that went nowhere. I know now that a lot of that was because of you two, but even before the sudden endings, I just didn’t… feel anything for them. That doesn’t mean they deserved some of the things you did,” Steve said pointedly, “But they just weren’t who I wanted. I realized there were two people I was stuck on--but by the time I was trying to figure out what to do about that, I found out they had started seeing each other.”

Bucky’s stomach was rolling, astonishment and joy and guilt and regret all jumbled up inside him. “You told us we were right for each other.”

Steve gave him a heartbreakingly sad smile. “You’re the two fellas I care about most in the world. I knew you’d be good together.”

“You gave us your blessing.” Tony’s voice is flat, emotionless. “You saw the people you lo--wanted--dating someone other than you, and you gave them your blessing.”

“I wanted you to be happy,” Steve said simply.

Tony looked pained, and Bucky knew exactly what he was thinking. They had seen someone they loved with someone else--and had deliberately gotten in the way. Over and over again. “What was that you were saying about not being any better than us? Because let me tell you, I’m having a real hard time seeing that.”

“I’m not perfect, Tony! You _know_ that. The world sees Captain America as some model of human perfection, but you guys know I’m just Steve Rogers, the kid from Brooklyn. There are things I can’t do, things I mess up.”

“Yeah. Like breaking the damn shower…” Tony grumbled, but now there was a teasing glint in his eyes.

“And you can’t sing worth a damn,” Bucky added.

“Hey, now, the Howling Quartet brought tears to Peggy’s eyes,” Steve protested, grinning.

“Yeah, tears of pain. Dum-Dum sounded like a cat in heat, and you weren’t much better.”

“I think I had a point somewhere around here, before you started maligning high quality wartime entertainment.” Steve got serious again. “You guys were--cockblocking me, because you thought I deserved better. But I don’t see how I could possibly deserve better than the people I love most. Even if they can be pretty stupid at times.”

“Wait,” Tony said, “Are you propositioning us and insulting us at the same time?”

Steve considered the question for a moment. “Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the longer time between updates. Here, have an epilogue at the same time!


	5. Epilogue

Steve swallowed as the brunette trailed her fingers up his arm. “Not comfortable at these big fancy affairs, are you, Captain?” she asked, voice husky. “We could get out of here, go back to my hotel room for a more… intimate atmosphere.”

Steve cleared his throat and took a step back. “Thank you, ma’am, but I’m happily in a relationship.”

“Oh! I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.” Her eyes still looked hungry, and he wondered if she would continue her attempts at seduction, or if she was now seeking gossip about his love life.

If it was the latter, she was apparently going to be satisfied, because he felt arms slip around his waist, and suddenly he was flanked.

“He doesn’t,” Tony said from his left.

“But his boyfriends would appreciate if you’d back off a bit, ma’am,” Bucky said from his right.

The woman’s eyes traveled over both of them, and she appeared more speculative than disappointed. “Of course,” she nodded once, gracefully. “Excuse me, Captain.”

Steve sighed, shaking his head as she left. “I told you, I don’t need you fellas to protect me.” He lifted his arms to rest on his partners’ shoulders.

“Course you don’t,” Bucky agreed.

“Let us anyway?” Tony asked.

The two of them looked at him with puppy dog eyes. Steve raised his eyebrows. When their pleading looks only became more exaggerated, he tried to keep an unimpressed expression, but couldn’t hold back a fond smile. “Fine. Just no more threatening people, okay?”

Bucky grinned at the victory, but Tony looked affronted.

“Threatening, what, there was no threatening here,” Tony protested.

“There was some threatening,” Bucky acknowledged, unapologetic.

“No more threatening than the look he--” Tony tilted his head toward Steve “--gave Dr. Biro when she touched your arm earlier.”

“I didn’t--did I?” Steve hadn’t realized his discomfort with the woman had shown on his face.

Bucky nodded, smirking.

“It was a death glare,” Tony said. “Kind of hot, really. But still, pot, kettle, and all that. And she wasn’t even coming onto him, she was just interested in the tech.”

“The last person to be that interested in the tech of Bucky’s arm was you, Tony. That’s not reassuring. And you were flirting with her at the same time.”

“What? I was not; I was talking science!”

“You always flirt when you talk science,” Bucky pointed out.

“I talk science with Bruce all the time, I don’t flirt with Bruce, do I?”

“Yes,” Bucky and Steve replied in unison.

“Huh. Wait, is that a thing I need to stop doing? You know it doesn’t mean anything, right? Clearly I don’t even realize I’m doing it, but I can try to stop, I mean, if it bothers you--”

“Tony,” Steve interrupted, squeezing him closer and pressing a kiss to his forehead. At the small of his back, he thought he felt Bucky’s metal hand shift to grip Tony’s reassuringly. “We know it doesn’t mean anything, and I don’t want you to stop being you. I’ll just be a little jealous when you ‘talk science’ with strangers, the same way you’ll feel the need to ‘protect’ me from anyone who looks at me for more than two seconds.”

Tony smiled. “So what you’re saying is we’re all jealous assholes.”

“Guess we really do deserve each other,” Bucky agreed.

Steve squeezed them both tightly. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you jerks all along.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! :)
> 
> (If you're disappointed by the lack of a sex scene, you could check out my unrelated Bucky/Steve/Tony PWP "Tell Me (What I Want)". /shameless self promotion)
> 
> Oh, and I'm considering writing a companion piece to this story from Steve's POV. No promises, but if there's interest, it might happen.  
> (UPDATE: I'm thrilled by the interest in the companion piece, but I'm not sure how likely it is now... I have been continuously attacked by other plot bunnies, so it's kind of on the back burner for now. I'm happy people enjoyed this story enough to want more, though, so it's still a possibility!)


End file.
